The Runaway Bride
by knockturnalleys
Summary: No one would agree to an arranged marriage. Morticia certainly wouldn't, she wouldn't give up her future just to make sure that their families blood remained pure. :OC; Arranged Marriage!AU:


This is a tale that I witnessed myself, and I'm here to recount. This is a love story, but not your typical love story. This is a story of hurt, distress but ultimately finding yourself and who cares for you and who you care for.

It was a late summers night, the stars where blinking down upon the Malfoys Manor with benches placed on each side of the white carpet, which was leading from the Manors front door to the giant gates that lead to a small pavilion. Flowers where placed all along the aisle, lilies and daisies, all the beautiful white flowers that they could find in any flower shop. With the occasional green in the middle of the white. Only one word to describe them: pretty. Not beautiful, but pretty, and a little sad to look at.

I walked out of the Malfoys door and across the garden, to the gates and entered the tavern.

It wasn't necessarily a big tavern, but it wasn't very small either. The inside of the tavern was coloured in maroon, three girls were grouped around another figure standing on a pedestal, they were tidying up her hair, her white bridal dress, everything in need for the wedding.

As I entered the fray, the girl in the centre of the group turned around as she heard the noise and a bright smile lit up her face. It made her look even more beautiful than before. "Ginny! It's been a while! How are you?"

Whispering apologies to her bridesmaids, she got off the pedestal and walked towards me, arms outstretched to embrace me, her footsteps careful but quick. Not to rip up her dress or anything that the girls had been working so hard on for the last few hours, but urgent, urgent to see _me_. I rushed forward too, since I have also missed her since the Hogwarts days, oh, around six or seven years.

"Morticia!" I exclaimed and hugged her, although I was terribly careful to not mess up her makeup or anything of the sort. "I'm fine, although I am very much curious why did you choose this?"

Arms still around me, she lead me to a cozy chair beside the fireplace. I sat down, she sat down opposite me.

"There are a few things that I haven't told you yet," She sighed, her voice tense and distraught. "I didn't choose this; my parents and his had this fixed for us. I don't want this, I don't want anything like this. I tried and tried, I asked him myself but it just doesn't work! He doesn't want to either, we don't fit. We can hardly stay in the same room together without rowing, how will we even live together without blowing the house up everyday. I just, don't want to spend the rest of my life in here, this cold marble house that I will have to call home, with people around me that I hate, that I'd have to call family -" Her voiced catched on the last word, and she took a deep breath to calm herself, and looked back at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

I did not know what to do, I have no idea whatsoever how to calm her, to tell her that it was all going to be okay. But it wasn't going to be okay, she knew that. The only thing that she could do was stand up and give her a kind pat on the shoulder, and almost-hug, I called it. Since this was her big day, and it was going to be a big decision that she has to make, maybe even costing her happiness.

"Listen to me, Mort, your fate is in your own hands. I'm just going to say this. But let's not talk about this, today's a wedding day, so come." I held out my hands to her and she took them. I helped her to stand up and walked her to the dressing table. "No matter what comes next, you have to look beautiful for it."

Fireflies and Fairies had been set on the Malfoys garden. All the guests had arrived, the benches were all packed with witches and wizards, with these esteemed purebloods who came to congratulate the new couple and send them gifts, on behalf of the wedding.

I came out of the tavern and sat down on the last row. It was a miracle, actually that she managed to get invited, all thanks to Morticia no doubt. The Malfoy's would never have agreed to let her come if she hadn't been a close friend to their son's bride. I was nervous, twisting my hands in my lap until music sounded in the distance. Everyone looked around at the tavern, and they saw the most beautiful sight in the world.

I didn't take such a close look at her dress while in the tavern, more on the fact that she looked absolutely gorgeous.

She was wearing a bride that trailed to the ground, with lace sleeves reaching to her wrists. The whole dress was covered in lace, except the tail of the dress, which was made in such a way that it looked like a fishtail. A mermaid dress, I remembered it being called.

The lace trimmed on her bridal gown was in the shape of leaves being carried away by a breeze.

Her chocolate brown hair was spilled on her back in elegant waves. Jewels were artfully entangled in her hair.

In her hands she clutched a bouquet of lilies.

She had no smile upon her face, but it was still beautiful and delicate. She approached the podium and set her eyes, the first time of the night, to the blond boy in the black tux. They stood together and faced each other as the wizard who was conducting the wedding spoke a few lines (maybe not a few but you get the gist).

I stopped listening to the wizard for a while, just studying my friends face. It was full of sadness, but also something else, determination?

"Will you, Draco Malfoy, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I will."

There were sighs upon the air.

"And will you, Morticia Nox, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I-" Her breath was caught in her lungs and she stopped to look back at Ginny. "I'm sorry, Draco," She whispered, but everyone could hear her perfectly well. "But I can't." The flowers that was in her hand dropped to the ground and she turned towards the crowd, their faces all filled with horror. She looked back at Draco, "I can't have the both of us living in pain for the rest of our lives. Do you forgive me?"

For the first time in the whole night, a smile crossed Draco's faced. A genuine smile. "Of course I do." Morticia smiled back at him and then turned her back on him. She picked up her dress and stepped off the podium, and ignoring the protests of the guests (some who had stood up and started yelling), strided out of the Malfoys garden, still with a smile on her face.

As everyone was storming off, I saw a dark-haired girl kneeling down to pick up the flowers that Morticia had left on the ground. As she was about to stand up, a hand reached across to help her up. "Here, Astoria, I'll help you." Draco smiled.

* * *

 **A/N: This is written for**

 _ **Hogwarts School (C &A)**_

 **Myths & Legends - Assignments 1, task 3.  
Chocolate Frog Cards Club - Dorcas Wellbeloved, challenge.  
Writing Club - [894] tale & [987] witness.**

 _ **HPFC**_

 **Woman of History Challenge - Elizabeth Bennet  
'Can You do it' AU Extravaganza - Arranged Marriage!AU  
The Restricted Section - shelf 1**

 _ **& prompts from Gringotts Bank**_

 **OC names - Morticia Nox  
Colour - White  
A-Z list of AUs - Arranged Marriage**


End file.
